Convocation Speaker Founded “StoryCorps,” Wrote this Year’s Common Read

Posted on September 25, 2013 by R.J. Burt

This year’s “common read” for new students and the Evergreen campus community.

Radio producer Dave Isay, founder of the “StoryCorps” oral history project and author of “Listening Is an Act of Love,” spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of new students at Evergreen’s 2013 convocation last Monday. The students who have only just arrived on campus gave strong evidence of having read the book by peppering Isay with questions. By all accounts, it was a great start to the 2013-14 academic year.

The book, a compilation of conversations that have aired over the years on public radio stations, was the assigned “common read” for all incoming students and all faculty members. Common read seminars will go on throughout the academic year, uniting the campus community around issues such as identity, agency, the power of voice, and the impact of stories as cultural and historical milestones.

At a college known for encouraging students to chart their own individual educational experiences, the common read program serves as a touchstone, something students will experience as a community as well as in their own, individual ways.

Alumni are encouraged to read “Listening is an Act of Love” this year and share comments in this web log, on Evergreen’s Facebook page or with each other in conversation circles wherever Greeners gather.

Let us hear from you about this book, the Common Read program, or other related issues. For information on how to form a reading circle in your area, contact R.J. Burt in the office of Alumni Programs.

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Lynda Weinman ’76 Takes Aim at Higher Ed Myths in Huffington Post

Posted on September 25, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Lynda Weinman ’76 speaks on Education in the Age of the Internet at Return to Evergreen (May 2012). Photo by Shauna Bittle.

This week in the Huffington Post, Lynda Weinman ’76 takes aim at some of the myths she believes threaten the future of colleges and universities, erode equity and access, and harm U.S. competitiveness. Read the full story.

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Fotoland Galerie: a Look Back at Evergreen 2012-13

Posted on September 24, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Editor’s Note: See the full text and gallery at Inside Evergreen, and more great photography by our Photo Services colleagues.

A photographer’s job doesn’t end after the pictures are taken. You could say that’s the beginning.

On stage at the 2013 performance of the Vagina Monologues presented by the TESC Womyn’s Resource Center. Photo by Shauna Bittle

From untold thousands of images, (as well as videos and audio recordings) brilliantly captured during the last academic year, staff Photographer Shauna Bittle and her intern Andrew Jeffers continue to work. Continue reading →

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Adam Wicks-Arshack ’10: On the Spokane River for Social Justice

Posted on September 24, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Editor’s Note: Here is an inspirational example of “theory to practice.” Adam Wicks-Arshack ’10 runs a a river-based environmental education company that offers educational trips in 30 foot voyager canoes. The Spokane’s Spokesman Review covers his latest journey.

Voyages of Rediscovery uses canoe holding 10- 12 students, with room for a teacher and a guide.

In the 1930’s, the construction of Grand Coulee Dam electrified to the a huge portion of the Northwest. As the lights were going on, members of the Spokane Tribe lost a staple of their diet: the bountiful salmon that each year returned to the upper third of the Columbia River and its tributaries.

Today, Adam Wicks-Arshack, Director of Voyages of Rediscovery, is leading 25 students from the Wellpinit School District onto the river, in a canoe they built themselves to discover their river-going history and lobby for expanded treaty rights to the fish that shaped their culture. Read the full article.

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Sauerkraut and Social Justice: It’s Got to be Evergreen

Posted on September 19, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Just one month away, Return to Evergreen is ready to host alumni and community members with workshops, seminars, music, tours, and more.

No plans yet for October 19? Here’s a sneak preview of some of the things you will miss if you don’t attend this year’s Return to Evergreen:

The Revolution Will Not Be Pasteurized
A fermentation workshop with Sash Sunday ’09 of OlyKraut, Melissa Barker ’00, Organic Farm Instructional Technician and faculty member David Muehleisen. Come to the beautiful Organic Farmhouse to learn and practice the basics of making home-scale sauerkraut and hear the story of some of the trials, tribulations and tricks of starting and operating a small processed-food business.

Humor and Human Rights
Seriously? Is there a place for humor when we speak of human rights? Is there a place for lightheartedness in the face of atrocity? Jane Korman sparked controversy in 2010 when she posted on YouTube a video of her father, Adolek Kohn, dancing with his grandchildren at Auschwitz, Dachau, and the Lodz ghetto. Adolek Kohn survived the Holocaust; half a century later the family returned to Poland to dance to Gloria Gaynor’s disco hit “I Will Survive” (Some view the dance as a triumph, while others find it tasteless or worse.

This seminar will consider the conditions under which comedy and humor might have a role to play in the way we think about human rights. This counterintuitive approach should help us locate the limits of how “human rights” function as a legal concept, a moral language, and a cultural practice. We will watch a short film, discuss it, and explore how the language of human rights does or does not help us make sense of ethics, politics, and justice.

Evergreen Faculty Member Emerita Betty Kutter

The (Phage) World Comes to Evergreen
Having just hosted the 20th Biennial Evergreen International Phage Meeting, with attendees from 37 countries, Evergreen Faculty Member Emerita Betty Kutter will highlight cutting-edge Phage applications in the areas of human health and food safety. The seemingly miraculous, bacteria-eating virus is sometimes called the “Tinker Toy” of biotechnology because it can be used in combination with other elements to effect seemingly impossible health benefits. Whether your are a former student of Betty’s or have never before heard of Phage, you’ll be amazed and inspired. Don’t miss this session.

Watch for program updates in the MIND or get the whole story right now on the website.

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Educator & Entrepreneur Lynda Weinman ’76: The lynda.com Success Story

Posted on September 16, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Lynda Weinman, Co-founder and Executive Chair of lynda.com

In a two-part interview, internet education pioneer Lynda Weinman ’76, co-founder of lynda.com, chats with television host Zhena Muzyka about success, entrepreneurship, outside investment, getting ‘unstuck’ and more.

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Big Surprise! Evergreen #2 On List of Colleges Offering “Weird” Courses

Posted on September 6, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Editor’s Note: Take a look at the original story, The 7 Weirdest College Courses You Can Take,” in “Made Man,” a self-proclaimed “men’s portal that includes content from a variety of web properties,”

Columbia College has “Zombies In Popular Media.” Cornell University has a course called “Gossip.” University of Victoria, BC offers “The Science of Batman.” In the number two slot on this list of seven weird college courses is Evergreen’s program, “Looking at Animals.” Here’s the synopsis:

Illustrating the Evergreen Program “Looking at Animals.”

This course is how we look at and understand animals. The course contains lectures, readings, and seminars about how animals are portrayed in film, literature, and art. You’ll learn about the portrayal of animals throughout art and media history. You’ll then go through workshops where you’ll develop skills in 2D art, such as drawings or paintings, and 2D animation. The major project associated with the course has you combining your work in the studio with library research on exploring a particular animal or topic within the larger theme of the course.

Really? What’s so weird about that? What’s so weird about any of these programs? The Evergreen Mind chooses to interpret the word “weird” in this context as a back-handed compliment; pop-culture code for innovative, interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

On the other hand …

“Gossip?”
“In this graduate course, you’ll explore the philosophical traditions in which gossip has been devalued, as well as how it’s been recently reevaluated by theorists such as …”

Yeah, this actually does sound a bit weird.

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Biophysicist Betty Kutter Invited the World to Evergreen – And It Came

Posted on September 5, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Question: Why did almost 200 scientists, researchers, physicians and educators from all over the world travel to Olympia,Washington this summer?

Evergreen Faculty Member Emerita Betty Kutter

Answer: Because Betty Kutter invited them.

Earlier this month, August 4th through 9th, many of the world’s foremost experts on Bacteriophage (Phage), a virus that eats harmful bacteria, converged on the Evergreen campus to talk, share research and think critically about Phage. At the center of this discussion, now and for the past 50 years, is Evergreen Faculty Member Emerita Betty Kutter. Betty has devoted her life to learning and evangelizing about Phage, ever since a scientific mentor said to her many years ago “when we understand phage, we will understand the essence of life.”

Here are highlights of 20th Biennial Evergreen International Phage Meeting:

“Today in the Phage World, this is the place to be. ”

one of the conference speakers.

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Breaking Glass Ceilings: Monica Alexander ’13

Posted on September 1, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Monica Alexander ’13 (3rd from left) First African-American Woman Sergeant in Washington State Patrol, Promoted to Lieutenant.

It’s been a busy year for Monica Hunter-Alexander ’13. Until a couple weeks ago, she was the first African American woman to achieve the rank of sergeant in the Washington State Patrol (WSP). On June 14, Monica walked across a stage on Red Square to accept her degree from the Evergreen State College. And on July 16, the WSP promoted her to the rank of lieutenant. The ceremony was held on August 8th and Monica had the pleasure of sharing the official recognition with her husband, Johnny Alexander, who had received the rank of lieutenant earlier in the year.

Monica found an academic home in Evergreen’s Tacoma Program, located in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma.Of her student life, Monica summarized:

“My Evergreen Tacoma experience was exceptional. I felt like I attended class with family. We argued passionately, cried collectively and supported each other whole-heartedly. We encouraged each other and respected each other’s goals and aspirations.”

Monica has received numerous honors and awards including the Educational Excellence Award from the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. She was a familiar – and popular – face on KOMO-TV’s traffic report. In 2003, Monica was inducted into the Tacoma African American History Museum for her service to the community and her work with the WSP.

Monica’s life path thus far – her evident commitment to community, social justice and life-long learning – exemplifies the motto of the Evergreen’s Tacoma Program: “Enter to learn, depart to serve.”

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Always A Happy Day: 2013-14 Jackie Robinson Scholars Honored

Posted on August 31, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Left to right: Felix Braffith accepting “the big check” for Maxwell Hanckel, Doneesha Brown, President Les Purce and Mariners President Chuck Armstrong

Evergreen students Doneesha Brown and Maxwell Hanckel received public “congratulations” last Tuesday as this year’s Jackie Robinson Scholarship recipients. The ceremony took place, as is traditional, at Seattle’s Safeco Field just prior to a Mariners game.

Evergreen has awarded 48 Jackie Robinson scholarships, starting in 1987, thanks to the philanthropy of then-faculty member Patrick Hill. A much beloved teacher, philosopher, writer and story-teller, Patrick endowed the scholarship as a tribute to his parents, immigrants who valued education highly but never, themselves, went to college, and who were devoted Jackie Robinson/Brooklyn Dodgers fans.

Read the full story.

Just a bit about Patrick Hill:

Patrick died in 2008 just weeks after being awarded Faculty Emeritus status upon retirement. Here is one of many laudatory statements from former students listed on RateMyProfessor: Patrick Hill was the best teacher I ever had. He was a strong leader, yet had a gentle way, and was inspirational to the nines. He was encouraging and supportive, understanding and yet could light a fire under you. He is the reason I am a teacher. Often I ask myself “What would Patrick do?” An amazing mentor and man! Life changing absolutely!

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